The Truffle

I know; I'm shocked, too

2008-07-18T22:54:00.002-04:00

As Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama prepares for a major trip to Europe and the Middle East, a poll released Friday shows his supporters are much more fired up about the election than those of his Republican opponent John McCain.

The poll by The Associated Press and Yahoo News showed that 38% of Obama's supporters say the election is exciting compared with 9% of McCain's. The passion and interest shown by blocs of voters are important because they affect who will be motivated to vote.

Someone in ~~John McCain's cheerleading squad~~ the allegedly "liberal" media has to figure out a way to spin this ASAP.

Crybaby conservative alert! Again!

2008-07-18T22:46:00.005-04:00

Speaking of whiners...

"It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues facing the country."

That's Phil Gramm, explaining why he resigned from the McCain campaign. A more eloquent way of saying "WAAAAAAAH! I'm sick of them meanies!"

Botanical blogging time!

2008-07-18T21:22:00.016-04:00

Some photos from my recent visit to Brooklyn Botanic Garden with Le Sweetie:

A modern-day Snidely Whiplash speaks!

2008-07-16T13:46:00.004-04:00

Where else but on Faux News can you hear a sociopathic winger condemn the idea of public service--and misquote Jefferson in the process?

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jonathan Hoenig, 1980s yuppie holdover, author of (no joke) Greed Is Good, and believer in the I've-got-mine-so-hit-the-road-you-rube approach to life.

"It was Thomas Jefferson who once said that public service and private misery are inseparably linked," Hoenig told the hosts of Fox & Friends, referring to a letter in which Jefferson expressed a concern near the end of the Revolutionary War that 13 years of public service had left his private affairs in "great disorder."

Yeah, a WAR will do that. I'm sure George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ulysses S. Grant felt the same way at some point in their lives, but they didn't use it as an excuse to behave like assholes. And they never pooh-poohed the idea of public service.

"There is a belief now," Hoenig went on, "that individuals, especially young people, should essentially ... 'devote themselves' to something greater than themselves -- sacrifice their own wants, their own interests, to serve the common good, whatever they happen to believe it is at the time. To me, that's very un-American."

Say, dude, what if their wants and interests involve teaching, nursing, or the Peace Corps? Not everyone wants to be a hedge fund manager like you.

Hoenig denied that there is any such thing as the "common good" beyond what a politician might say it is. "I just don't think it's the role of the government," he complained, "to have me tutoring young kids if I don't want to or digging latrines if I don't want to or cleaning up trash at housing projects."

Oh dear heavens! Imagine asking Mr. Hedge Fund Capitalist here to exchange his Italian suits for old jeans so he can trudge around Hunts Point picking up trash. The very thought makes one wish some smelling salts were nearby.

Even when asked about the value of military service, Hoenig insisted that "people who serve in the military do so voluntarily, and I think they do so out of their own self-interest. They do so because they want to attack and kill a militant Islam. They do it very selfishly."

Note he doesn't mention college tuition benefits. But I'm confused. Is he suggesting there's something wrong (i.e., "selfish") with wanting to kill, what's the word? Militant Islams? Doesn't he support the War on Terror? If not, what's he doing on Faux News, since he's obviously not there as a token liberal?

Via The Defeatists.

ANOTHER crybaby conservative alert!

2008-07-14T20:43:00.010-04:00

Just a few days after Brent Bozell scoldfest, Amanda Carpenter is complaining about young voters, with their newfangled Facebook groups. It would be hard for anyone her age (she is 25) to sound like a supercilious old biddy, but Ms. Carpenter pulls it off with aplomb.

I thought at the age of 18 you became an adult, with the right to vote and sign up for the military, not be pandered to by desperate political candidates. I guess most people in that age bracket are pretty childish, though. Most of them are college students living off of mommy and daddy's dime, who are hand-fed their meals from a dining hall. Which is why most of them lean Democratic--they're dependent and haven't been made to earn their own way yet. Of course, there are lots of other 18-25 year olds outside this category, like single moms and men and women oveseas [sic] in the war, but you never see those people interviewed in those stories about the youth vote. The only youth who typically are engaged in politics are the ones in a more leisurely class, with time enough to paint protest signs and make Obama mashups online.

OH REALLY?!?!!?

Allow me to give my example, Ms. Carpenter. I skipped my senior year of high school and worked a variety of jobs in college, both on and off campus. I was a library assistant, a coffee shop worker, and a tour guide. I did a newspaper internship and wrote for my campus paper to boot. I spent the summer between my junior and senior years in England. I was handed my college diploma three months before I turned 21. Weeks later, I was living in New York City and starting my career.

I knew lots of other students like me. Students who worked to save money for college tuition. Students who attended college on full scholarships. Students who, like me, held campus jobs. Given that I went to an arty liberal arts college, we didn't have an ROTC branch. But there was a fellow student who had joined the military to earn money for college tuition.

I suspect there are a lot more students like that than Ms. Carpenter cares to admit. According to her bio, she graduated from Ball State University, where she ran a right-wing Web site. Wonder what other Ball State students, past and present, would say to being classified as a bunch of loafers slumming their way through four years of higher education?

Then again, perhaps Ms. Carpenter confuses her own movement-conservative milieu--crammed as it is with Yellow Elephants, wingnut welfare recipients, and assorted buffoons who owe their livelihoods to their family connections--with the world at large.

Or maybe she's just annoyed that so many people in her age group don't think like she does. She's hardly the first conservative to dismiss the youth vote. Kay Steiger notes the real reason for the wingers' annoyance:

Of course a conservative woman like Carpenter finds young people who trend heavily progressive actually showing up to vote annoying. Then the policies she supports are less popular.

Note: Ms. Carpenter's blog post got a lot of responses from young women who basically have pointed out she doesn't know what she's talking about.

I'm feeling 1990s nostalgia

2008-07-14T20:19:00.002-04:00

Man, I loved L7. I loved all those 90s alternative grunge acts. Okay, most of them. I never like Bush or Stone Temple Pilots. But L7 will always hold a special place in my heart.

Remember the Presidents of the United States of America? The band that did "Lump"? This is not the video for "Lump." This is the video for "Peaches."

Belly were another awesome band. They came and went too fast. What's Tanya Donnelly doing these days?

Dispatches from Planet IOKIYAR

2008-07-13T23:24:00.002-04:00

Guess whose pastor is a raving bigot? Hint: It's the GOP presidential candidate.

Aren't you relieved that this isn't another post on Jeremiah Wright?

Aren't you wondering why the MSM didn't pick up on this story?

(Via Politopics.)

This is NOT an Onion headline

2008-07-13T19:13:00.008-04:00

And it's not from the Borowitz report, either. WHAT are these people thinking?

Church Cancels Teen Gun Giveaway

An Oklahoma church canceled a controversial gun giveaway for teenagers at a weekend youth conference.

Windsor Hills Baptist had planned to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle until one of the event's organizers was unable to attend.

The church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, said it’s a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event. The church expected hundreds of teenagers from as far away as Canada.

"Say, kids are into that hippity-hop rap stuff, right? The rappers all sing about guns. Like that Will Smith guy. He was real great when he played Ray Charles. I bet we'll even get some kids from the 'hood, hee hee hee!"

A video on the church Web site shows the shooting competition from last year’s conference. A gun giveaway was part of the event last year. This year, organizers included it in their marketing.

“I don’t want people thinking ‘My goodness, we’re putting a weapon in the hand of somebody that doesn’t respect it who are then going to go out and kill,'” said Ross. “That’s not at all what we’re trying to do.”

Gee dude, I hope not. You guys are in OKLAHOMA CITY, remember? Didn't you grow sick of whacked-out, militia-loving, violent psychos after that McVeigh guy caused all that trouble in your city?

Couldn't Pastor Ross hold a picnic like they do at all the other churches? Gawd.

Crybaby conservative alert!

2008-07-11T22:25:00.003-04:00

Brent Bozell III wags his finger at liberals who are writing and saying mean things about Jesse Helms, "a man credited with impeccable conservative credentials in the U.S. Senate." No, Bozell didn't mention in too much detail the exact reasons people hated Helms. According to him, the nasty liberals just want to go poopy on the grave of a dead conservative. Mean liberals that include...um, er, um...Andrew Sullivan.

Gee, one of us liberal has got to say something nice to show that we're not all a bunch of intolerant meanies. So let me say something in Helms' defense. During his political career, you couldn't find a more ardent supporter of America's white, heterosexual Christian population. See, he wasn't a total hater.

P.S. Hoooooooo boy.

Le Pantload makes a fool of himself. Again.

2008-07-10T13:44:00.004-04:00

This time, he compares Obama's national service plan to slavery, twisting himself into a pretzel as he whines about government and sings the praises of volunteerism. Volunteerism, by the way, is exactly what Obama is proposing. Check out Obama's Web site and you'll see that he calls for...get ready for this...universal voluntary public service. That's what it's called right there on the Web site.

In other words, something other than slavery.

Meanwhile, I hope Pantload is simply volunteering as an op-ed writer, because I hate the thought of the LA Times (or any paper) paying him to write this stuff.

Best. Quote. Ever.

2008-07-08T13:44:00.000-04:00

As we know, America is divided - that is, anywhere from 68% to 80% of us share one set of views, and the celebrity media and the RNC share another set of views.

From Sideshow.

Someone offers helpful advice

2008-07-07T23:04:00.002-04:00

For all of the GOP pundits out there that are continuning to call Obama just another “typical politician”, please continue to do so.

As long as you continue to call him “typical” then he can no longer be an elitist, a Muslim, a radical Islamist, and all of the other ridiculous things that you want him to be on any given day of the week. If he is a “typical politician” than he can’t possibly fall into the other 30 characterizations you have placed on him.

From Politivine.

More on "Wall-E"

2008-07-07T22:56:00.003-04:00

I saw "Wall-E" on Saturday with Le Sweetie and some friends. It's a really adorable and emotionally involving film. I swear, Wall-E and EVE now officially replace Rhett and Scarlett as the greatest romantic couple in film history. Okay, I'm kidding. Sort of. I'm kind of tired of seeing humans in romantic leads. Robots are a welcome change.

Frank Rich, meanwhile, titles his latest op-ed "Wall-E for President." I can't wait to read what William Kristol thinks of the movie. On second thought, maybe I can.

Squirm, baby, squirm

2008-07-05T22:49:00.002-04:00

The election cycle has entered a transition period, from the silly season to the schadenfreude season. Remember 2004's great GOP smearfest here in NYC? Well, 2008 is looking to be somewhat less upbeat.

“It’s a very delicate situation,” said Brian Jones, a former communications director for Mr. McCain’s campaign who also was a top communications strategist during Mr. Bush’s 2004 run for re-election. “Even though the president is the president, this is going to be John McCain’s convention, and you want it to be about John McCain and what his presidency would be.”

Translation: "We're really, really need to convince American voters that John McCain isn't just Bush 2.0."

In St. Paul, Mr. Bush will speak on the convention’s opening night, said Dana Perino, the White House press secretary — a tiny bit of news from an administration that typically keeps a close hold on the president’s schedule. The White House and the McCain campaign said the details were still being worked out. But one Republican close to Mr. McCain and Mr. Bush, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the president would give “an important speech” but that a joint appearance was “highly unlikely.”

Translation: Team McCain doesn't want the president there because any further Bush/McCain photo ops will find their way into DNC campaign ads.

Most Republicans say Mr. Bush should play whatever role Mr. McCain wants him to. Some, like Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, simply wish Mr. Bush would keep out of it, though few would say so openly.

“I don’t think there are a lot of people who want to see him at the convention,” said Mr. Rohrabacher, who is especially irked with Mr. Bush for his stance on immigration. He said the president “should stay home from the Republican convention, and everybody would be better off.”

Translation: Bush was held up as the avatar of everything that made the party winners winners WINNAHS!!!!! Now, he's political kryptonite. But hey, it's easier for the Republicans to blame Bush than to blame their own stupid policies.

Can't wait to see if they invite Zell Miller back. Say, where is Zell, anyway?

(Via Fact-esque.)

How to make a scumbag look sympathetic

2008-07-05T21:06:00.003-04:00

Arrest him for exercising his First Amendment right to say disgusting crap. Via Ang comes this news item:

44-year old Andre Moore is being held at the 18th Police District by the very officers he apparently wanted to kill.

At least that's the message he allegedy sent out to the world in a disturbing, hate filled rant on YouTube.

"When you shoot the cops, you shoot them dead.", Moore is heard saying.

Moore allegedly posted this video on the internet demonstrating how to use a Colt .275 to shoot cops.

What police also find disturbing is that Moore is employed as a security guard at Einstein Medical Center, the hospital where Officer Chuck Cassidy died of gunshot wounds six months ago.

"We lost three police officers to guns on the streets of Philadelphia, and this idiot's out there promoting this message.", said Thomas Burke, of the Pennsylvania Gun Violence Task Force.

Moore's anger is directed mostly at the 18th district where he was cited for minor offenses last month.

"I can't stand the 18th district," the videotaped rant continues. "That's why I rejoice whenever they shoot a cop in Philadelphia. 'Cause I hate them."

And Moore dosen't stop there.

He goes on to promote violence in a city that is struggling to turn the tide.

"Continue killing the 18th district police. I promote violence in Philly. Promote violence in Philly."

Moore faces a number of charges, including aggravated assault.

Andre Moore is clearly several fries short of a Happy Meal. But folks? Ranting and raving on video is not the same thing as actual assault. Just wait: this case will probably get tossed out of court, this guy will become a First Amendment hero, and the local law enforcement will look stupid.

Oh yeah, and Ann Coulter (among others) has entertained similarly violent fantasies about people she hates. And nobody's arrested her. But then again, she's white and Andre Moore's black. I'm sure that's a factor.

It's Snark Saturday!

2008-07-05T13:59:00.006-04:00

From the "be careful what you wish for" department...

The "real 'Merikenz SPEAK TEH ENGLISH!1!!1!" crowd would be in big, BIG trouble if they ever had their way. For one thing, they could find themselves demoted to second-class citizen status.

Don't believe me? Some proof...

Note to wingtards: Why do you guys have so much trouble with this word, anyway? It's A-M-N-E-S-T-Y. Like in that Bush-hating human rights group, Amnesty International. If you're going to harp about the English language, can't you at least buy a dictionary? Or at least consult one at your library? You DO have libraries where you live, don't you?

Not to be outdone, a wingtard mayor has dared to be different:

Okay, let's give Mayor Stranczek the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was talking about excretions instead. Maybe he's convinced illegals are letting their dogs poop on his lawn. Yeah, that's it...

(Via Democratic Underground, where at least they can spell "amnesty.")

Happy July 4!

2008-07-04T22:38:00.012-04:00

Le Sweetie and I spent the afternoon at Battery Park, where Sonic Youth and the Feelies performed. Gawd, I love my digital camera.

First up, the Feelies, who've reunited after a bunch of years.

Sonic Youth, meanwhile, played lots and lots of Daydream Nation material. Alas, from where I was standing, I was only able to snap Thurston and, occasionally, Kim.

Yet another reason I wanna see "Wall-E"

2008-07-03T21:03:00.005-04:00

Right-wingers hate the movie. And, as expected, they invoke the name of the Great Vice-Beelzebub himself, Al Gore, who's become even more beastly than Bill Clinton in the collective subconscious of the wingnutosphere. The National Review even titled one of their blogs "Planet Gore." ("It's his planet. We're just living on it, goddamn it!")

Good gravy, didn't these people learn anything from their little "Happy Feet" hissy fit?

Okay, in the interest of balance, I'll mention that at least one rightie defends the film as an "indictment of liberalism." Uh-huh. Pixar's a regular propaganda arm of the great lumbering movement-conservative juggernaut, all right. "Hey doods! Ann Coulter's getting predictable. Let's make a cartoon robot our newest mascot!"

Michael "Gay Penguins" Medved has yet to register his opinion of the film, but one former colleague predicts he probably won't enjoy it too much.

Attention all mouthbreathers TROO AMERIKANZ!!!1!1!!

2008-07-03T20:52:00.003-04:00

Courtesy of Media Girl, it looks like TEH EVIL Muslim threat is more insidious than previously imagined. Paging Jonah Goldberg/Ben Stein/Michelle Malkin/Insert Your Own Favorite Faux Patriot Here! LOL Cats are the real anti-American fifth column, and not just because Muhummad was a cat person.

Sue me. I think this is cool.

2008-07-03T12:56:00.006-04:00

And just in time for Fourth of July! Granted, the name "Pure McCain Cola" suggests the contents inside the bottle are rather flat and lacking in fizz...but, well, that's McCain '08 for you.

Via Blue Gal.

Prog blog time!

2008-07-03T12:48:00.003-04:00

Okay. This weird. Genesis before they went MOR. Peter Gabriel sans flower outfits and masks. Phil Collins with facial hair. FACIAL HAIR, people. And Tony Banks channeling his inner Keith Emerson.

Truly one of life's little "WTF?" moments.

Wasting brain cells in Margaritaville

2008-07-01T17:44:00.003-04:00

One of life's little "DUH" moments. Jimmy Buffett, deity to Parrotheads everywhere, is against the Iraq war, telling an interviewer, "Anybody who makes policy in this country oughta have to walk by the Vietnam memorial on the way to work."

The interviewer asks Buffett, and I quote: "So why not vote for Vietnam vet John McCain?"

Because a. McCain supports the war, moron. And b. you don't need to be a war veteran to walk by the Vietnam memorial.

Stop me before I make a sarcastic comment about the liberal media.

Via Sideshow.

Advice for former GOP presidential hopefuls

2008-06-30T19:51:00.003-04:00

STFU. Seriously. First, Rudy makes a fool of himself, and now Sam Brownback is trying to rewrite history.

Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas learned a lesson today that other John McCain surrogates might be wise to learn: Before you say Barack Obama never worked across the aisle, make sure he never worked with, for example, you.

On a McCain campaign conference call with reporters this morning, Brownback — who was briefly one of McCain’s rivals for the Republican nomination — said Obama was all talk and no action when it came to working across the aisle.

“John McCain’s a maverick. He’s fought for a bipartisan fashion,” Brownback said. “I think that the biggest thing I’ve seen from Barack Obama is a willingness, aggressiveness, to talk bipartisan and yet to vote the hard left — most liberal member of the United States Senate.”

So Obama’s rapid-response team quickly fired off an e-mail listing the projects on which he worked with Brownback. They include a Brownback bill that authorized sanctions against people who were involved with the genocide in Darfur, a version of which became law in 2006. They also teamed up on an Obama bill that required the administration to provide humanitarian relief and other aid to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Brownback also co-sponsored Obama’s bill to impose sanctions against Iran. And the two were involved — though not the principal players — in the 2006 immigration overhaul effort that McCain worked on with Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Note to Senator Brownback: Stick to calling Obama an evil terrorist Muslim. It would lend you more credibility.

Via Dem Underground.

Yes, I have too much time on my hands

2008-06-30T19:26:00.005-04:00

...And a rather strong stomach.

Image shamelessly swiped from Yellow Doggerel Democrat.

A couple of years back, I blogged about the obvious homoerotic subtext of today's Republican party. Other people have also noticed this; hence, the existence of an actual Livejournal devoted to slash fiction about politicians. Most recently, it includes a Bush/McCain slashfic (but, alas, no Larry Craig/David Vitter pairings).

It seems politician slash is too tame for some fanfic writers. Teresa Nielsen Hayden has discovered...don't read this on a full stomach...Punditslash.

Yes, you read it correctly. Punditslash. Sadly, none of the fan stories feature Fox News' crew of dreamboats. I suspect there'll be a Bush/Lieberman fanfic before Hannity and Colmes get the slashfic treatment.